(The following article by Gordon Dickson was posted on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram website on January 26.)
FORT WORTH, Texas — Federal inspectors will fan out across the country in search of safety problems on railroad tracks beginning in March, the most dramatic step to date in a 9-month-old program to prevent fatal train crashes, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said today in Fort Worth.
“The incredible growth we’re experiencing is leading to greater demand on every type of transportation, especially railroads. But we must remember the No. 1 transportation priority, and that is safety,” Mineta said after touring the Burlington Northern Santa Fe headquarters, where he got an up-close look at how technology is being used to monitor track switches in remote areas. “Without this focus, the human and economic cost can be considerable.”
With Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Boardman at his side, Mineta announced that accident data will be used to determine what parts of the United States are most at risk of future crashes, and that federal inspectors will be deployed to those sites to look for common problems.
The Transportation Department also will buy two new track inspection vehicles, which can check for cracks while rolling. That will triple the number of miles the agency can inspect, he said.
New federal rules also will be proposed later this year to address human factors such as fatigue, he said. About 38 percent of accidents are caused by human error, he said.
Mineta announced his rail safety initiative in May.
BNSF was chosen as a backdrop for Wednesday’s update because the railway has invested heavily in safety features, federal officials said.
Mineta toured BNSF’s Network Operations Center near Interstate 35W and Western Center Boulevard. The football field-size command center features dozens of work stations, where workers use computers to track 1,300 trains a day on 32,000 miles of track.
Nine movie theater-size screens are used to display real-time information on how quickly freight is moving through the system, and whether there are any delays.